Expert Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison over Platinum Filters Case

Bratislava, January 23 (TASR) – Bratislava I District Court on Tuesday sentenced expert Ondrej B. to a prison sentence of ten years in relation to the so-called platinum filters case, at the same time imposing one year of protective supervision on him.

In the case of the alleged undervalued sale of so-called platinum filters by the State Material Reserves Administration (SSHR), a prosecutor pressed charges against former SDKU nominees at SSHR – former reserves department official Jan K., head of the reserves service office Juraj L. and expert Ondrej B.

The defendant Juraj L. was acquitted. The court didn’t rule on the final member of the trio accused, Jan K. [full names not provided – ed. note], on Tuesday, as his case was diverted to an independent hearing because of his long-term incapacity to work. The rulings haven’t come into effect yet.

“The court didn’t have the slightest doubt that the defendant [Ondrej B.] committed the act stated in the operative part of the decision,” said the chairman of the senate. The expert declared that the filters in question were worth €81,720, when in fact their real market value was approximately €2.8 million. The state allegedly lost around €2.2 million when selling the platinum filters.

According to the court, however, the situation was more complicated when it came to accused Juraj L. “As regards proving that the accused was the person responsible for the deed that is the subject of these proceedings, the senate concluded that this was not the case,” said the senate chairman. Although the defendant might have known that “something unfair” was going on, it wasn’t proven without doubt that he committed the deed.

Nonetheless, the court said that other people who weren’t accused were responsible for the sale of the undervalued platinum. “The whole case was organised by entirely different people,” said the senate chairman.

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